Bonjour!  I have safely arrived here in Paris this morning after last night's long, long journey. 

We boarded the plane at 5:00pm, for a 5:45pm departure and sat on the tarmac for four hours before actually taking off. 

Apparently, there were thunder/lightening storms above LACE w:st="on">New YorkLACE>, so Air Traffic Control grounded all outbound flights (except for those going north).  So, I was supposed to land at 7:30am.  Instead, we touched ground at Charles De Gaulle at 10:00am, where I preceded through all the standard formalities: pass through customs; visit the ATM to obtain Euros (most people do not realize that often the ATM is the best exchange rate); rent international cell phone; locate taxi, etc.

I have checked into my room and meandered downstairs, where I now sit, comfortably in the bar of my favorite LACE w:st="on">ParisLACE> hotel, l'hotel Lutetia, drinking tea with milk, and pondering the lunch menu.  I am undecided.  I have narrowed the lunch menu down to the following choices:

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a) Marbled duck fois gras with young seasonal vegetables;

b) Organic Irish smoked salmon with green vegetables and lime cream; or

c) One of two variations on a fromage salad — either the Rocmadour or the Saint Marcellin.

The hotel lobby offers free wireless, so I brought my laptop down and logged in.  Funny thing – my myspace account is now entirely in French, along with Google and all the other US based .com websites I have bookmarked.  I guess it's a good thing I've been practicing my French.

This afternoon, I plan to visit the Bartholomew's cheese shop, Gil Verdot's wonderful chartcuterie, and Christian Consant's chocolatier.  I have also scheduled a pedicure in a very upscale Parisian salon— one that caters primarily to Parisians.  This particular spa offers their own line of products that are based on rose –extract (my all-time favorite).

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Following my afternoon of local shopping in the St. Germain district, I will dine in one of the many wonderful local bistros within a two-block radius of the hotel— that's if I don't crash from jetlag first.